Remember what Ortom stated when inviting his colleagues from the states of Rivers, Oyo, Abia, and Enugu to dinner in Makurdi? “You want me to serve as a Fulani’s slave. Better off if I die. You want me to remain silent while my people are being slaughtered. I won’t ever back a Fulani man for president. I will collaborate with anyone else who is willing to help me secure the safety of my people “said Ortom.
But Ortom stated, “I want to explain that was not what I meant when I was filmed saying that,” in response to questioning from media in Bauchi on Wednesday during a meeting of the “G-5 Integrity Group” that visited governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State. However, even though I am aware that it would be logically false if people interpreted my words the way I did, I still want to apologize to those who were so hurt by what I said. I did not intend that.
However, the Northern Elders Forum, or NEF, has called the recent remarks of the guy who never supported a Fulani man to become president of Nigeria again “diversionary.”
In a statement released on Wednesday, its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said, “We, like other Nigerians, watched the video in which Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, speaks in a manner and language totally unbecoming of a leader, at a time when standards of responsibility and decorum should be at their highest levels.”
He appeared to be speaking to the public about the recent murder of villagers, which he blames on Fulani herdsmen.
“This current outburst should be criticized in a most emphatic manner, even while making allowances for the established patterns of rhetoric and behavior of Governor Ortom on intercommunal relations.”
It “does neither justice to the heinous murders in Benue State nor to the governor’s position in the eyes of his people.”
“Governor Ortom’s most recent disrespectful outburst is not excused by the backdrop of a partisan climate. Instead, it draws focus away from the most recent catastrophe that has affected residents and families in Benue State.
“The Northern Elders Forum has continuously denounced the siege and insecurity that Nigerians have experienced over the past few years. Particularly in the North, renegade Fulani groups have made a name for themselves as murderers, robbers, and kidnappers.
The Forum will continue to insist that candidates for our votes in 2023 outline their plans for re-securing all Nigerians in explicit and concrete terms. As Governor Ortom excellently illustrated, they must also show how they intend to combat harmful profiling and the purposeful manipulation of passions.
“The Forum asks that decision-makers depoliticize the scourge of insecurity that plagues us all. Additionally, it calls for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the deaths of villagers in Benue State and other civilians in other communities around the North.
“Governor Ortom should uphold his oath and his devotion to his duty to lead his people responsibly.
He should resist the need to pander to the audience, which, like all Nigerians, is in urgent need of relief and a stop to the massacres that drive people against one another and into never-ending wars.
